A DIAMOND OR A STONE?
by gaaraluva.xoxo
Summary: Never take something for granted hold everyone close to your heart…because one day you’ll wake up and realise you lost a diamond while you were busy looking for stone. SasuSaku xx
1. Chapter 1:1

This is my first fanfic, so i hope you enjoy  
BTW i don't own Naruto, but i love it x

* * *

**(Part 1) If I said I loved you, would you love me back?  
**Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better, for worse. I will love you

Chapter 1.1

A gentle sigh escaped from her lips. She was sitting on the branch of a tree, overlooking the training grounds. Sakura came here every afternoon to watch him train; she knew that most people may find her habit, obsessive and kind of creepy. But it was the only way that she could see him without the barriers, it's not like he could or would ever open up to her. Combing her fingers through her soft pink hair, she watched as the figure below walked into the forest, till the boy with the raven-hair was gone from her view.

XXX

She knew she was late; both boys were already there…waiting, without the slightest exchange of words. Slowing her run into a slow walk, Sakura took in her teammates, the three of them started together when they were twelve and four years later they were still together. Little had changed, Naruto was still had the attention span of a five year old, but he had matured not just mentally, he was stronger and more in control of his power at 17 than he had been when he was a pre-teen. She would never say it out loud, but Naruto didn't look so bad now either; he was tall, tan, blonde hair blue eyes, and though he seemed lanky he had a bit of muscle around the arms. And as though on cue…

"SAKUURAAAA CHAAAN!!! ABOUT TIME, GEEZ THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE, EITHER OF BORDEM OR FROM ONE OF SASUKE'S L…"

At the mention of his name Sakura lost her train of thought, she looked around to see sitting under the shade of a tree, the love of her life, Sasuke Uchiha. As though he read her mind, Sasuke looked up, his narrowed onyx eyes, clashing with her big, bright emerald orbs. She felt the heart rising up her neck, Naruto may be good-looking, but Sasuke was on fire. He was just a bit taller than Naruto, milky-pale skin which clung to his muscular, lean body and dark raven hair which fell just over his onyx eyes. She was head of heels in love with him, but she knew that he would never fall for a girl whose hair looked like she had an accident with bubblegum at birth.

The sound of her sensei bought her mind crashing into reality. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I…"

"Aww, just tell us why you called us here, I have a 50% discount coupon for ramen which expires today", Sakura could help the twitch at the ends of her mouth, team 7 were used to Kakashi lack of punctuality, and his greater lack of imagination.

"Well it just so happens that I have a very important mission, that I thought you three might be interested in…" pausing, darting his eyes around the group waiting for a reaction. Nothing. "…okay well it's an A ranked mission, where we will be escorting two princes back to their homeland"

"Sweet, haven't had a good workout in ages", finally getting the reaction that he was after, no doubt coming from Naruto, Kakashi-sensei continued to fill his team in.

"Now because there are two clients we must escort, Tsunade-sama and I figured that it would be wiser if we split them up, which would make it harder for the enemy to track us down. So for that we're going to have to split up, I decided that Naruto and I would pair up, and Sasuke you go with Sakura. That way both teams are roughly even, any obligations to these arrangements? This mission may take about three to four days one way, because we'll have to take elaborate routes and with extra baggage it'll also be a bit slower. So if you have any problems with the pairing, say so now, because we can't change later on. Sasuke? Sakura?"

Looking from the corner of her eye, she could see Sasuke give a shrug, with a slightest shake of a head. Four days…Just her and Sasuke. She felt breathless, and she had to fight an eternal battle to stop the Cheshire cat grin from being plastered onto her face.

"Okay then tomorrow, 6am at the gates" and without another word he was gone in a puff of smoke.

XXX

"Hi, names Ruka, and this here's Seikou", Sakura couldn't help but gape at the two princes; even though they were brothers the two looked nothing alike. The one named Ruka had dark brown eyes that almost seemed black, black hair, but in the sun it almost looked red, which was cropped short and neat, he was older than the rest of them, probably around nineteen. The younger other one, Seikou, who looked around their age, was taller that Sasuke, had honey coloured hair which stuck up at the top, and warm chocolate brown eyes which almost looked golden.

"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you" the two princes exchanged glances and shook Naruto's hand; she noticed that both brothers had a dimple in their left cheek when they smiled.

"Uchiha Sasuke", that's when she felt four pairs of eyes on, snapping out of her daze, looking up she could see everyone looking at her. "Oh…Right…Sakura, Haruno Sakura", she felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Cute name" Her cheeks flushed, she noted that the comment came from the tall one, called Seikou. He was smiling crookedly at her, his dimple dented in his cheek and his eyes dancing with amusement. But before she could reply, she was saved by Kakashi, who chose to make his presence at that very moment.

"Are we ready to set off?", getting a wave of synchronised nods as a response, he finished giving out directions before they would part, pointing at Ruka, "You come with me and Naruto, so that means blondy you're with Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke you've got the map, follow the red route, we'll be taking the blue one. We'll be meeting up this time tomorrow at the Tetzuki Temple, before we arrive at our final destination,**Reogukre**. That's all, you three head off we'll see you tomorrow"

"Hai" as the three of them ran off into the depths of the forest. Kakashi knew that no harm would come to Seikou with those two around; he was more concerned about whether he made the right decision pairing Sakura with Sasuke.

XXX

The silence was unbearable, yet breaking it seemed deadly. Sakura could make out Sasuke's black spikes up ahead; she hoped that she would be able to get to know Sasuke better on this mission. But looking at the current situation she highly doubted. That's when she heard the rustle in the bushes, and when Sasuke stopped walking she knew that he'd heard it too. Catching his eye, she knew what she had to do. Running towards Seikou and standing in front of him, kunai at hand.

"Seikou-kun, stand behind me", Seikou's face was masked with fear, his chocolate eyes had gone cold all the warmth sucked out, "Don't worry just stay close, we won't let anything happen", she turned to smile at the boy, some of the colour returned to his face but he was still anxious about the whole scenario. Sakura couldn't blame him, this was her first time on such a high ranked mission without Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, so she was feeling a bit nervous, but she knew that she had to hold her own and trust Sasuke to protect them.

Two masked men jumped out of the bushes. Sakura took her stance ready for the attack, when Sasuke appeared, his eyes bleeding crimson. "Sakura stay back", his voice its usual calmness, she nodded in reply, knowing that although his back was turned he got her message. It was an advantage of being so close after almost five years; as though the four of them could pick our each other's thoughts.

"KATON GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU", the bright ball of flame hurled towards both men, who at the exact moment pounced into the air and threw kunai in their direction. It took him one swift movement to deflect the attack, before he charged towards them, his hand glowing from the concentration of chakara, "CHIDORIIII!!"

The clearing was filled with dust, she could hear Sasuke's silent gasps, hoping he hadn't pushed himself too far, she ran into the gigantic cloud of dust; Seikou right on her heel. The clearing was in a mess, but it was nothing new to her. She knew first had the devastation that Sasuke's chidori could cause. As the dust began to clear away, Sakura could see him, leaning against a fallen tree, he seemed fine, but as she was approaching him she could see him face tight with pain and the deep gash in his shoulder.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"They got away…shit…", clutching his blood soaked shoulder, he looked around trying to figure out away to get up.

"Here…", Sakura watched as Sasuke eyed Seikou, who had offered his hand. Biting her lip, she watched as both boys continued to stare, she knew how Sasuke hated to show weakness, and Seikou's gesture rubbed salt into the wound. Much to her surprise, Sasuke grasped his hand and levered himself onto his feet, nodding his head as a token of thanks. "Well there's no point in going after them. I think it'd be best if we set camp here. We'll have to cover more ground tomorrow, but looking at Sasuke-kun's condition I don't think I'd be wise to go an further today", not waiting for any note of consent from the two, she began to pitch the tent.

With Seikou's help, setting up camp didn't take long; she had secluded Sasuke in the corner much to his dismay. She had found out a lot about the young prince; his older brother was next in line for the throne, and after his father became ill, they had to return home. But there was another noble family, who also carried the royal bloodline, and if Ruka or Seikou could not step up and be king then the son of that family would.

"So the ninjas that attacked us today were probably hired by them"  
"hmm…", it was obvious that his mind was troubled. Holding his gaze, she smiled gently and told him to go rest. "We have a lot to catch up tomorrow"

"Yeah, night Sakura-san and…" she turned to where his eyes averted to; Sasuke sitting by the fire, his shirt drenched in blood. She didn't have time to do anything about his wound other than give him a few weak painkillers, he looked a mess.

"Don't worry about him, you go to sleep, she watched the mess of honey blonde hair disappear inside the tent. Letting out a deep sigh she made her way toward her battered teammate,"Sasuke-kun…"

"hn"

"I think that I should look at that wound", seating herself beside him, she cautiously watched as he fixed his gaze to her. She couldn't help herself from thinking how such a cold stare could melt her heart. "It's fine, I'll just bandage it", his stubborn attitude really pissed her off sometimes, usually it was Naruto or Kakashi who dealt with it which she stood in the background, but not anymore. Sakura knew that she had to stop relying on other people to do things for her, and that went for Sasuke too.

"Sasuke-kun", her voice firm and controlled than imagined. "If you don't get that wound cleaned, then it could get infected and who knows what might happen then. So please, sit down and let me take a look"

"…", he had no words to express, Sasuke was so used to getting his way with Sakura, one word and he had her wrapped around his finger. All he could do was lie back and let her do what she did best.

XXX

Sasuke had never really seen Sakura using any of her medical jutsus, but whatever she was doing with him, he had to admit was amazing; her expert control of chakara was beyond what he and Naruto were capable of, though he hated to admit it.

"Okay, you're all good", he watched out of the corner of his eye, as she shook her hair out of the small ponytail and leaned back on her arms and looked up at the sky. She was quite pretty in a weird way; her short pink hair which just reached her shoulders, a curvy figure, not that he looked enough to notice. But what got him was her eyes; big bright emerald jewels, which always seemed to be glowing, it was priceless.

"You were really lucky Sasuke kun", tilting her head she smiled at him. "That kunai was covered in poison, if the cut was any deeper, it would've killed you". This wasn't news to him, that why he had to change his target back at the clearing otherwise the kunai would've gone straight through his chest. "You know it might be better if I help you, you know my fighting isn't that bad"

"You don't have to worry about that sort of stuff, that's what we're here for"

"Yeah, well I'm part of this team too. I know you probably don't think I'm good enough, but I train really hard and I've become heaps stronger", Sasuke was shocked by her words; he hadn't expected her to reacted so badly to it. She had he arms crossed across her chest and she was avoiding eye contact with him, glaring straight ahead. "That's not what I meant", he was struggling to get his point across, without offending her or giving her the wrong impression. "It's just that you're a lot more fragile than the three of us, I guess leaving you on the sidelines is our way of protecting you"

He could see the blush slowing creeping to her cheeks, she hugged her knees to her chest as she turned and beamed at him. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

XX END XX

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Yay first chapter up!! please review =]


	2. Chapter 1:2

OMG thanku soo much for your comments, im soo glad that people enjoy the story…I wasn't sure if anyone would like it. Well, apologies for the slow update, i didn't want to disappoint 3  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!! Or Gaara

* * *

**(Part 1) If I said I loved you, would you love me back?  
**Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better, for worse. I will love you

Chapter 1.2

The sun crept into the sky, saturating the clearing with light. A tangle of pink hair popped out of the tent opening, her emerald orbs partially concealed from her half shut eyes. And just as she vanished deep into the woods, another head emerged. Seikou managed to not so gracefully stumble out of his tent, only to be blinded by the sun's laser beams. His hand shot up to shield his eyes, then combed through his hair, ruffling it even more. His heart froze, at the cracking of twig behind him.

"Oh…Seikou-kun, good morning. I didn't know you were awake", Seikou felt a cool sensation take over his body, as he turned to face the pink haired kunoichi_. _She looked alarmingly refreshed, her eyes were dancing and her face was radiating – it was almost toxic. "You look awfully cheerful, Sakura-chan". Even though the comment came out in a cynical manner, it was as though his words just breezed past her. "Oh really", she let out a silent sigh, and beamed at him. Clearing his throat Seikou broke the unusual trance, "Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's face faltered for a split second, he wasn't sure if he was seeing things or not, but she recovered herself as if it never happened, her eyebrows narrowed and her mouth slightly scrunched. "I'm not sure, but don't worry he's probably around…somewhere"

_Sasuke…where are you?_ Sakura recalled last night's events, she and Sasuke had a moment, she was so sure of it. _"I guess leaving you on the sidelines is our way of protecting you"_, his deep voice still rang in her ears. He was so amazing, so strong, so smart and so…_standing right in front of her!_ She snapped out of daydream, to face a beautiful, freshly awoken Sasuke. "Sakura…you okay?" he looked at her, his eyes full of concern. "Um…yeah…I fine…We should get going…lots of ground to make up." She busied herself by making her way to the tents, to find them neatly packed and ready to go. Looking around the clearing, she noticed that it was completely as they originally found it. Clearing his throat, Sakura turned her attention back to Sasuke, "We should go". He turned to Seikou, black onyx penetrating golden brown, and raised his eyebrows. Seikou nodded, as though they had developed their own form of communication, then both turned to face her, drawing her into their world, as she tightened the straps on her bag, ready to go.

XXX

"There that's it", Seikou and Sasuke looked at where Sakura was pointing, and through the trees the golden roof of the temple could be seen gleaming in the afternoon sun. The trio broke into a run, where they were met with a unsurprisingly energetic Naruto. "SAKURA-CHAN! TEME! BLONDY!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and Sakura giggled quietly to herself, as the approached their teammate who at the present moment was jumping around and madly waving his arms around. "YOU GUYS ARE SO LA…OW…Kakashi-sensei what was that for", behind him their fearless leader stood, fist hovering over Naruto's head. "Your loud voice was annoying", he replied smoothly, "Did you three run into trouble?" Sasuke nodded and went with Kakashi into the temple. Probably to discuss the ambush Sakura guessed.

Frazzled and tired, Seikou finally made his way to the group furiously mumbling to himself, "Oi you okay?" His eyes popped back as Naruto's face was pushed towards him, his blue eyes bulging. "Yeah, who calling blondy? Blondy"

"Seikou, chill out bro", Sakura had almost forgotten about Seikou's brother, who was lounging against a tree, escaping the harsh sun. His hair was slightly windblown, but other than that he looked almost untouched compared to his otouto who's hair had leaves and twigs coming out of it, clothes where covered in dust and had eye bags which showed how little sleep he had gotten last night. At that moment Sasuke and Kakashi emerged from the grand temple and Kakashi began his debrief for the next half of the mission.

"Well the route to Reogukre is going to be quicker. The plan is that you get there by tonight or at least early next morning. We'll keep the groups the same. If there are no questions, then we should get moving."

Sakura gave Sasuke an uneasy look, which was dispersed with his reassuring nod. Then for the second time the group split and headed down their separate routes.

XXX

The sun started to fade, and Sasuke knew that they had to pick up their pace, they weren't that far from reaching Reogukre, and he hoped to get there before it was completely dark. Something about walking in the forest in pitch blackness, whilst being targeted, didn't appeal him too much. He took a quick glance at the other two; Sakura looked worn, but still had that fierce flame in her eyes, unlike Seikou who looked as though he was in the verge of collapsing. Which he did. "I can't take it anymore, can't we just stop and rest for the night and continue tomorrow? I'm not used to walking so much"

Sakura noticed Sasuke's eye twitch slightly, and felt a storm brewing. "I don't care how much you've walked in your life, we're nearly there, so we're not stopping now", Sasuke replied coolly, his face emotionless.

"Hey, I'm your client right. I'm paying you to …"

"To protect you? What do you think we're doing?", Sasuke glared at him, his words dripping in venom. "We're risking our lives to get you back home safely. So what? You can boss more people around? I'm not letting your whiny requests put our lives in danger, now we're nearly there so get off your royal ass and get moving"

Sakura stood still, unable to move, her eyes wide darting back and forth between the two boys. "Sasuke-kun…", but she was cut off by Seikou, "Don't worry about it Sakura, I guess I deserved it. I've never been spoken to in such a…carefree way." He turned to her and smiled weakly, his dimple dented in his left cheek. "It's kind of refreshing, to be treated like someone normal for once. I guess I didn't really appreciate what you guys were doing for us, so if it's not too late, I'd like to apologise and thank you", standing up, he bowed. Sakura gasped, it was unsightly to see royalty bow down to those who were considered below him, she knew that this gesture was his way of showing his sincerity. "Seikou-kun", she walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders pushing him back up. "Let's go", Sasuke seemed to have thawed down, though his voice was still irritated, she noticed how his eyes lingered on her hands which were still on Seikou's shoulders. She quickly recoiled her hands back to her chest, her face flushing slightly.

XXX

An hour or so had past when the three of them stood on top of a hill, overlooking the bustling city of Reogukre. The sky had become dark, light with a spray of bright stars. They plunged into the busy crowds; Seikou pulled his hood over his head leading the way, followed by Sasuke, and Sakura. But when Sasuke looked back to Sakura was being swept away, she was frantically pushing her way through the masses of people. This was no Konoha, Sasuke thrust out his hand and clasped it tightly around hers and carefully pulled her through. He couldn't help but notice how soft her hand was, her fingers felt so thin and fragile, the owner of the hand he held sprung out if the massive mob. Her hair was tousled, long pink bangs concealing her eyes, and he noticed the almost translucent blush which went across her face. Without saying a word, he continued to follow Seikou, still holding Sakura's hand tightly in his.

XXX

His hand was so warm, and so big, she thought she would lose hers in his grasp. But she was glad, he would never of done such a bold move when she first meet him. He had changed a lot. Before he was so set on avenging his clan that he never spared a thought for others around him, it took Naruto to knock some sense in him, literally.

"_You don't understand, you don't know my pain. What it's like to have a family, what do you know of that" His words came out cold, yet it was as though they burned. Sakura couldn't do anything but watch the two people who were closest to her heart hurt each other both physically and verbally. She felt each blow and each word as though she was in the mist of the brawl._

"_Maybe I don't, I don't have a mother, or father or brother. But I have you…and Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei and everyone else. My friends are the only family I've ever known.", Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrists, both boys furiously glaring at each other. "What. Is. The. Point?" He spat each word, and Sakura felt Sasuke's pain as each word hit harder than any punch. _

"_I have to avenge my family" Sasuke managed to spit through gritted teeth. He raised his eyes to meet Naruto's. Sapphire and Onyx, each one bore into the other. "I have nothing to lose"_

"_What about us, all your friends? You're going to throw it all away for what?" Sakura held her hands close to her chest, she had never seen Naruto and Sasuke fight like this. Ever. "You find him, and kill him. Then what? You think you can just walk right back, like nothing happened? Then what'll you do?"_

"…"

"_Well I won't let you do this to yourself. And I know Sakura-chan won't either."_

_Naruto let go of Sasuke, as both boys clenched their fist and ran at each other, Sakura's piercing scream was unheard, as she ran towards them both lying unconscious on the hard ground, rain pounding hard. _

XXX

The palace was huge; its huge brick walls went on for ages, covered in ivy. Sakura couldn't help but be in awe. The entrance was breathtaking; white marble floors, two imposing staircases which met in the middle and a huge crystal chandelier hanging above them. Sakura spun around to take in the magnificent room, when she realised that she was still holding Sasuke's hand, he seemed to notice this as well, because he dropped her hand and turned the other way.

The doors of the entrance shot open, and there stood Ruka and Naruto, both supporting Kakashi sensei whose body stood limp between the two of them. "Sakura-chan, quick do something…we were ambushed", Naruto's eyes were filled with panic. "Quick Sakura-chan"

XX END XX

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Thank you so much, sorry again for the late update...but the next chapter is on it's way XD So please review and leave comments (don't be too harsh)


	3. Chapter 1:3

OMG, i spent a whole day writing this chapter, i just couldn't stop (XD). Hope you enjoy it. Please read and leave comments!!  
Disclaimer : I DON'T OWN NARUTO

* * *

**(Part 1) If I said I loved you, would you love me back?  
**Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better, for worse. I will love you

Chapter 1.3

The sound of silent footsteps echoed through the deserted hallway of Konoha Hospital. A gentle sigh escaped through her lips, "Sakura-chan. You okay?", the pinkette gasped, startled by the sudden appearance of her teammate.

"N…Naruto, you scared me. Don't pop out like that"

The one called Naruto, gave the girl a sheepish smile, while he used his fingers to comb through his blonde hair, "Sorry Sakura-chan. So how is he?"

Sakura took his hand in hers and looked straight into his sapphire eyes, clouded with confusion and concern, "He's fine. His condition stabled overnight, he'll get better soon". Naruto however refused to avert his eyes away, as if to prompt an unasked question. Squeezing his hand, she gave him a weak smile, "And I'm fine too".

He wasn't satisfied with her answer, but he knew pushing her would only agitate her further and he didn't want her blowing a fuse at him. Not letting go of her hand, Naruto guided his friend through the hallow hallways, out of the hospital. He noticed how she squinted her eyes once they were outside, as though she'd been in the dark for a long time. Knowing Sakura, he wasn't surprised.

XXX

Finally after hours of arguing and fake smiling, Sakura had managed to get Naruto to leave, she knew that he didn't buy her charade, but she just needed some time to get her thoughts together. It'd been almost two days since team 7, arrived back at the village, tired and slightly dismembered. From the word go, she had spent every minute attending to Kakashi-sensei, his wounds were serious, but thankfully Naruto had bought him in time to Sakura, so they weren't life threatening. Easing her sore body on the cream loveseat rested her head on the arm she slowly dozed into some much needed sleep.

_XXX_

"_Sakura-chan, quick do something…we were ambushed", Naruto's eyes were filled with panic. "Quick Sakura-chan"_

_Kakashi's body was limp, for a second Sakura thought that he was dead, but then his back arched, as he spluttered, struggling for breath. She could see the blood dripping down his chin, staining the white marble floor. Without wasting any more time, she went to her teacher's aid. _

_After she managed to heal his most serious wounds, Sakura began to relax. Seikou and Ruka went away, but she could hear Sasuke and Naruto whispering behind her. He was pretty shaken, but while she was treating Kakashi-sensei she could hear Naruto fill Sasuke in about what happened. She guessed it was the same ninjas who attacked them, or at least hired by the same person. Apparently the used a gas bomb and caught the three of them by surprise. One of them managed to stab Kakashi-sensei with a poisoned kunai, when he tried to save Ruka. Naruto said that he had to fight them off and that he and Ruka carried Kakashi back to the palace, hoping like hell that Sakura, Sasuke and Seikou had already made it back. She felt a steady hand grip her arm and pull her to her feet._

"_Sakura you've done enough, you should get some rest". Without opening her eyes she recognised who it was, his deep, concerning voice engulfed her heart with pure ecstasy. She wanted to obey he voice…so badly. But she couldn't._

"_Sasuke-kun, we have to get back to the village. Kakashi-sensei is still at risk, and I don't have the equipment to fully treat him", her voice came out weak, pleading with him. _

"_You've barely slept in the last two days", this was a fact, not a question. "Do you think you can make it back?"_

_Afraid that if she dared to open her mouth she would give herself away, all she managed to reply with was a brisk nod…_

"_Sakura, wake up Sakura-chan", she could hear her name being called out, but she wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. Suddenly she felt her whole world shaking, cracking her eyes open she found herself staring deep into two spots of black coal. Was she still dreaming?_

"_Sasuke-kun…", before she could stop herself the words escaped her lips, and when they did, how she wanted to snatch them right back. _

Her face made contact with the hard timber floor and rolled onto her back, knocking her elbow against the coffee table in the process. Furiously cussing under her breath, Sakura managed to get herself onto her feet. Walking over to the kitchen, she turned on the jug and leaned against the granite bench. _He knows. I know he knows. _After the three arrived back at Konoha with a barely alive Kakashi, Sakura had preoccupied herself with taking care of him that she had successfully avoided Sasuke for two days. Success Haruno! However deep in the pit of her heart, she wanted to see him. Fail Haruno! The irritated growl of her unfed stomach, bought her perfect dream, crashing into reality. Caressing her stomach, as though she was calming it down, she took a quick glance at her digital wall clock.

"Holy shit…", double-taking she took a closer look to make sure that she read that she read the time correctly. Sure enough the crimson numbers stood firm, challenging her; 7:52 pm. She had slept for eight hours…eight…hours. Damn, she really must've been sleep deprived. Her stomach let out another irritable howl, crying to be fed. Sighing, she got her coat, keys and wallet and head out the door.

XXX

Sakura forgot the last time she had been able to walk through Konoha, peacefully. Usually she would be jumping over building rooftops, or pushing her way through busy crowds to either get to the hospital or to the gates to go on a mission. She laughed softly to herself, thinking about how much her life had changed in the past few years.

"What's so funny?", startled she jumped to see a very amused Sasuke Uchiha, before her very eyes.

"N…nothing, I was just thinking about something", she carefully eyed him to see his reaction.

Nodding his head he, stared straight into her eyes, "How's Kakashi?"

"He's stabilised overnight, so he's in a good position right now", she said, surprised at how qualified she sounded. He noticed too.

Smirking he said, "You've changed so much". He coal black eyes laughing at her bemused expression.

"Changed? What do you mean?" Before he was able to answer, she was betrayed by her stomachs loud rumble. Embarrassed she quickly looked away, thankful for the slight darkness, so he couldn't see her beet-red face.

XXX

He couldn't help himself from chuckling, but when she turned suddenly, he quickly disguised it into a cough. Holding her elbow he led her to a nearby restaurant.

"Sasuke-kun…", the girl gave him a puzzled look, her emerald orbs questioning him.

Avoiding her piercing stare, he spoke softly to the pinkette, "Your hungry right." He said this not as a question, but as a fact. "You work too hard…", she continued to stare at him, urging him to go on. But he didn't dare anymore, he just couldn't. Her eyes tore away and turned its attention to the menu board taped to the glass window.

"Well I guess I'll have the katsudon, what about you"

"…", he quickly skimmed through the menu, finally settling on something small, he didn't want to tell her that he'd already eaten, and was on his way home. "… oyakodon"

They walked in side-by-side, settling with a table near the far right window. Sasuke took a look around the restaurant; it was virtually empty, except for an elderly couple, a young couple with their two children, and a group of young ninjas sitting in the opposite corner.

It was the ringing of her voice which bought him to turn his attention to the kunoichi sitting in front of him. "So what did you mean about, you know…how much I changed?"

Her question caught him off guard, as he mentally cursed at himself for saying that. There was no way around it, once Sakura was latched onto something, she didn't let go easily. _God, where do I start?_

"Well I was just talking about how you work so hard as a medical ninja. When we were younger, you didn't really care about your jutsus, you just followed me around", the words flowed out before he realised what he'd said. _Oh God, kill me. Kill me now! _

XXX

_OH. MY. GOD. _He said it. He actually said it. She was too stunned for words, yet that the same time madly thinking of a witty comeback, if she stayed silent for too long it would only confirm his amazingly sharp observation.

Laughing nervously she locked her fingers together avoiding his stare. "Yea well I was younger then, I guess I kind of had a crush on you then", she was using all her self-control to keep her voice even, but even all that effort could stop he cheeks from tingling. "But now I have other things to worry about, I don't really have time for that." It wasn't a complete lie; technically her work would keep her so busy that she didn't have a minute to steal to think about him – however that didn't mean that she never did. She didn't have the courage to tell him the truth; that she was head-over-heels in love with the very boy sitting across from her.

Changing the subject she interjected, "You know you've changed too, Sasuke-kun"

XXX

_Changed…me?_ Sasuke took a moment, contemplating her words. She thought he'd changed…he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. He just about to ask her what _she_ meant, but he was interrupted by the waitress, who bought them their food.

They ate their meal in silence, Sasuke hardly touched his food. Sakura however was deep in her food he didn't think she'd resurface anytime soon. Just how much did she work? Almost as though she spent all her time attending to others needs that she forgot her own. She _had_ changed. A lot. Again his thoughts were cut off midway when he noticed that she had finished and was eyeing him, warily.

"…"

"I said you hardly touched your food", she said this nodding her head towards his uneaten meal.

"I'm not that hungry"

"Oh, well I have to get back to the hospital. I should probably go now"

She was leaving. Why did this bother him so much? She stood up and took her wallet out of her coat. As soon as he caught on to what she was about to do, he stood up and took out some creased bills and placed them on the table. She looked at him, slightly embarrassed, and then she smiled, the most breathtaking smile. "Thank you for the meal, Sasuke-kun"

With that she took off, he caught a glimpse of her rosy locks flowing behind her back as she disappeared around the corner.

XXX

Sakura stopped running once she reached the glass doors of Konoha hospital, she was so glad to get out of there. She'd never been more mortified in her life.

Upon entering the building, she was immediately greeted by her many colleges. She braced herself for another sleepless night.

XXX

Back. Side. Stomach. Back. Sasuke was restless and unable to sleep, the nights events replaying in his mind over and over again.

"_You know you've changed too, Sasuke-kun"_

Changed. What did she mean? He figured she was talking about how he gave up on the whole 'avenger' cliché, but what if it had a hidden implication, some message that she was subtly trying to get across to him. _No._ He was taking too far. _Why are these things so complicated? _

But more than what got him the most was when she said that she had a crush on.

"_Yea well I was younger then, I guess I kind of had a crush on you then. But now I have other things to worry about, I don't really have time for that."_

And then she said that she was over him. _Well she didn't exactly say she was over me._ No but it was a pretty obvious hint. Who was he kidding, Sakura had seen him at his lowest moments, no girl in her right mind would want him after they saw him like that. And he was a jerk to her when they were younger. He didn't have a chance.

XXX

It was almost midnight, and Sakura held back an escaping yawn. She had just finished checking up on Kakashi-sensei, now all traces of the poison were removed from his blood system, all was left was his to regain his strength. She collapsed onto her chair and looked despairingly at the two growing piles of paperwork mounted on her desk. Sitting back she began to analyse both piles, contemplating on which one was smaller. As she reached for the top of the left pile, the door to her office creaked open. Squinting her eyes she could see the silhouette of the fifth Hokage and her master.

"Sakura, go home"

"Whaa…", her shishou had always been brash and straightforward, but she always took her off guard.

"I said go home. Go sleep. Eat. Whatever it is, I don't want you in this hospital", her amber eyes were flaming, and Sakura knew that there was no arguing with her.

Sighing, Sakura got up and made her way towards the door, where she received a comforting pat from Tsunade.

XXX

She'd made her way out the glass doors of the hospital, when she was hit with a chilling breeze. That's when she remembered that her coat was still in her office, she thought about going back to get it, then decided against it and made her way home.

"Sakura…", was that her name she'd just heard? She wasn't sure if the coldness had made her delusional, but just to make sure craned her neck to Sasuke approaching her at an extremely quick pace. Much to her annoyance he noticed how he was nicely rugged up, scarf and all. "What are you doing, do you have any idea what the time is?"

"Um…w.w.…", her teeth were chattering frantically, it was then that she realised just how cold she was.

"What the hell. Where's your coat?", without waiting for her to chatter an answer he took of his black, thick cotton coat and draped it over her shoulders. Her body was engulfed in his warmth, the smell of his fruity soap and aftershave lingering in the air.

Once she the colour returned to her face, he asked her again, "Sakura what are you doing walking around at this hour? And without your coat?"

Now that she thought about she probably looked totally crazy to him. The last thing she needed. "Tsunade-shishou told me to go home, I was in a hurry I forgot my coat"

Here he was for the second time alone with Sakura; he wasn't going to waste his second chance. "Sakura, take a walk?"

Though she was dead-beat, her heart obliged her to accept his offer, nodding she followed him.

XXX

"Wow"

Sasuke had taken her to a small lake; somewhere is the forest near the training grounds. The water of the lake was black, reflecting the moon which hung gloriously above it. The whole scene looked so serene.

"It's beautiful…", Sakura felt all her stress slowly ease away, it was extremely soothing, almost contagious. She walked closer to the bank of the lake, and sat on the moist grass.

Sasuke sat beside her, picking blades of grass out of the ground. "I used to come here a lot…after my parents died." Sakura was speechless, she knew that the Uchiha massacre was an 'off-limits' topic with Sasuke, this was the first time he'd bought it up. "I had no idea what I was doing, I was such a wreck. Swallowed by anger and revenge, I wasn't the easiest person to be around", he smiled at Sakura for the first time.

"…"

After a minute or so of silence he continued, "But I'm over that, Naruto was right; I had too much to lose", this time he looked deep in the core of her heart, the clash of onyx and emerald.

Sakura wasn't sure of what to make of his words, was he confessing something? The atmosphere was thick, and their silence loomed hauntingly in the air.

She took out her knife and cut it. "When I used to like you, I would always try so hard to get your attention but you always turned me down. My brain kept telling me that it was hopeless, yet my heart refused to give up. I really _liked_ you", she was such a coward. For all she knew Sasuke could've been inches from confessing his true feelings for her, but she…she…what? Ran away? If she confessed and he didn't feel the same way, it would tear her apart and that's the last thing she needed. For know she'll keep the secret stored away deep in her heart and let it free when the time was right. _I love you Sasuke Uchiha._

XX END XX

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Next chapter is coming soon...hopefully. Read and Leave comments, i really appreciate it :))


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